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Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

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Re: Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

#21

Post by erikschoster »

The original recordings sound much better and more interesting to me. Way better. The AI generated versions sound slicker in some sense but... like the re-recorded versions of old hit songs from the 60s you hear at the grocery store sometimes. Technically the song is still there, but it blends in with the rest of the muzak.

I'm sorry to be so negative, it's great you're returning to the material after all these years, but the AI versions I've listened to all have the same smoothed-over quality that loses everything interesting and relatable to my ears in the original versions.

Re: Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

#22

Post by jacobgraf »

01284a7e wrote: post #15

The web stuff is well done. Now, with this newly created momentum, you should re-record the songs now, without AI. Hell, you could probably afford an awesome studio and equipment too. You could easily blow the AI out of the water.

I'd love that. We hope to. We live on opposite sides of the country now. The AI stuff was a great, nostalgic kick-off for us. We don't plan on using AI like this as our only way of making music, but it was a great project to work on. We'd love to write some new stuff and play live again. Hopefully soon!

Re: Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

#23

Post by jacobgraf »

TrackerFF wrote: post #14

The revived (AI) versions have this...thin and hollow sound to it. It is difficult to explain, most AI-generated songs have this when they're modelling acoustic drums, stringed instruments, etc. FWIW, I'm (now a hobby) musician and have done studio work. Even the latest and best models have this unmistakable sound.

Totally agree. I guess that's what comes with the AI/robot stuff. Hopefully we'll be able to create an in-person album again, but with a little higher production quality than our dorm room versions.

Re: Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

#25

Post by jacobgraf »

erikschoster wrote: post #21

The original recordings sound much better and more interesting to me. Way better. The AI generated versions sound slicker in some sense but... like the re-recorded versions of old hit songs from the 60s you hear at the grocery store sometimes. Technically the song is still there, but it blends in with the rest of the muzak. I'm sorry to be so negative, it's great you're returning to the material after all these years…

I get it. Recorded music is a lot of fun to play and listen to. This still was a fun project for us to work on together after 25-years and with both of us living on opposite ends of the country. Hopefully our next release will be an in-person recording!

I gotta brag on Chuck a bit more though. I do love the depth to his lyrics and the way he puts them to melodies. I think his stuff, at the core, is excellent. Can't wait to work on some new stuff!

Re: Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

#26

Post by khr »

Interesting idea, and it sounds like you like the results, so kudos.

My musical taste tends toward less produced, rougher/lo-fi recordings, e.g. Guided By Voices. So, it follows that I prefer the original recordings.

There is one aspect that I find slightly dehumanizing -- the AI changed the singer's voice so drastically that I don't recognize the original singer anymore. The uniqueness of the voice has been smoothed out to be much more generic. For me, music (and art in general) is in part an expression of one's identity, so I'd consider this a negative outcome. I'm sure similar things could be said of the instrument performances as well.

But again, this is all just my two cents, and it's a matter of taste. Ultimately if you're happy with the results, that's what matters!

Re: Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

#27

Post by jacobgraf »

khr wrote: post #26

Interesting idea, and it sounds like you like the results, so kudos. My musical taste tends toward less produced, rougher/lo-fi recordings, e.g. Guided By Voices. So, it follows that I prefer the original recordings. There is one aspect that I find slightly dehumanizing -- the AI changed the singer's voice so drastically that I don't recognize the original singer anymore. The uniqueness of the voice has been smoothed…

Completely agree. We tried feeding his voice in and using that as a voice model and it actually sounded even further away from his actual voice so we nixed it. We uploaded our original tracks as a reference, so there were some notes that left me feeling like "that sounds like Chuck", but for the most part, yeah, it's pretty far off.

Re: Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

#28

Post by jacobgraf »

low_tech_love wrote: post #19
CSaponara wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“But I have fun doing it.” I think you nailed it here. The originality happened 25 years ago. That was fun! Then 25 years passed, life went on, and this project gave two old friends a reason to reconnect and see what the technology could do with our old songs. That was fun too!

Hey, I gotta say that reading your actual original words feels much more interesting than whatever is that artificial slop on your website!

Yeah, I built the website, but with a day job and 4 kids and about 64 other things going on, I did heavily lean into AI for the copy. :-)

Re: Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

#29

Post by jacobgraf »

efficax wrote: post #24

We're about the same age, I was even in a band at a small liberal arts college in the great lakes area in 2003. AI can't bring it back, and the stuff the music AI has created here sounds terrible to me.

Thanks for listening anyway. Personally, I like the stuff and love jamming out to it in my car, but hey, I may have a bit of nostalgia-bias.

Re: Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

#30

Post by CSaponara »

TrackerFF wrote: post #14

The revived (AI) versions have this...thin and hollow sound to it. It is difficult to explain, most AI-generated songs have this when they're modelling acoustic drums, stringed instruments, etc. FWIW, I'm (now a hobby) musician and have done studio work. Even the latest and best models have this unmistakable sound.

Agreed. As someone who had never dove much into AI, it was a great learning process to experience first hand its limitations and tendencies.
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